The Sun Forest
by Iwriteandfail
Summary: Lightningclan has grown a lot in the past moons. Duskstar, leader of Lightningclan, has had kits. Follow the journey of one of her kits as she follows the path of a warrior.


**This is story 2, so go read story 1 first! Again... Short chapters... Yeah. Also really old! So yeah, and again as my username suggests, I fail at writing!**

prologue

lightness came everywhere as the full moon rose. four cats gathered in the center of a starry field. a dark brown tabby tom rises to his paws. "it's full moon. the other clans will be gathering back in the forest," says the brown tom. "well what can we do? there are no other clans in the sun-forest!" says a silvery she cat with white specks. "there is no way to really have connection together with other clans when there is no other clans!" hisses a gray and white she cat. " ashwillow we know that. but there has to be something!" says the tabby. "we can start another clan!" yowls a small black apprentice. "littlepaw! you know we can't do that! that would betray all we have done for lightningclan!" says the silver cat. "would you ever listen to me rainmoon? it wouldn't be betraying them!" says littlepaw. "so we start a new clan? then what! when we stop going to their dreams what will they do? we are not starting a new clan!" says rainmoon. "well then I will go off on my own and find a clan to come here with their starclan! I am going to see lightningstar!" says littlepaw. littlepaw bounds off. "mudstar what are we going to do?" says rainmoon. "your kit will find out. it's up to lightningstars choice. she will decide what happens.

Littlepaw ran as fast as possible to the star rock. I think about what rainmoon said but I just run faster. I get to star rock and I stare at it. it was a giant rock shining like three full moons. "L- lightningstar?" I say ask I get closer to the rock. "who is there?" says a voice from inside. "I'm littlepaw. I wa.." I say but she intrrupts, "yes littlepaw I know you. come in." I walk in to the star den. "so what is it littlepaw?" asks lightningstar. she was white with black lightning strikes in her fur. "I need to go back to," I say but again she interrupts, "you what? why would you need to go back?" "I need to create another clan. it's full moon and they need to have gatherings! it's not right. the sun forest will never have a real clan unless sunclan comes back!" I answer. she gasps at the mention of sunclan. "sunclan. but why them? why not rainclan? or sharpclan? sunclan..." she says. " sunclan, rainclan, and sharpclan should come back," I mutter but she heard. "I will let you go back but you will have to be a kit again. you will be reborn into lightningclan with your memories and when you are six moons you go find a territory. then you get the clan together. but when you are 9 moons you will have to die again and come back to us," says lightningstar quietly. "ok when do I get to go?" I ask. "very soon. mistyheart will have her kits any day now."

chapter 1 duskstar

my clan. we have been together for 17 moons in all. lots of my clan have become fine warriors now. icecloud had the first kits born to lightningclan with sparrowclaw. they named them frostkit, shadekit and bramblekit. our apprentices are mintpaw and rockpaw. tigerwisker became a fine deputy and mistyheart is expecting his kits. there moons have been great but raintail died of whitecough. we grieved for them but that was 3 moons ago. "duskstar?" says a voice from outside. "come in," I purr. sharpfang comes in with roseleaf. "hi. just came to check on you!" purrs roseleaf. I turn to sharpfang. "im fine sharpfang don't worry about me," I tell him. he looks at his paws and purrs. "well there's nothing wrong with being worried. I just can't stand to see you hurt," he answers. "you seem fine but you should stay and rest for today," says roseleaf. I look up to her. "I'm fine roseleaf. plus I can't stop being leader just because I'm expecting kits," I answer her. yah I forgot to mention that I'm expecting sharpfangs kits. "don't worry! I'll tell tigerwisker that he will take both duties today!" she replies cheerfully. "that won't happen because mistyheart will be having her kits any day now," I say sternly. she rolls her eyes. "fine, fine but after her kits are born you will be resting. it's not good to continue your duties! remember your kits could come after the next 12 sunrises!" she answers. "I know but I will do this for tigerwisker!" i purr in amusement. the both purr to. "if you go on any patrols I'm coming with you," he says after a minute. I nod and stand up and stretch. we walk out and I see tigerwisker setting patrols. "darktail take snookthorn, snowlily on a hunting patrol," he says as we come out. "morning duskstar. how you doing?" he asks when he sees me. "I doing fine. how's mistyheart?" I reply. "she's doing great. do you want to join a border patrol?" he says back. "yes but a small one," I answer. "ok um take redpelt, mintpaw and sharpfang," he says. I nod and redpelt comes over while sharpfang goes and wakes mintpaw. once they all get here I nod and we run off into the forest.

chapter 2

when we got back from patrolling half of the territory it's sun high. we walk into camp, me being tired, to find that mistyheart it having her kits. I see roseleaf running to the medicine den. "duskstar! please calm down tigerwisker he is being crazy. he is scared that she is going to die but she won't," she tells me. I nod to her and dash to tigerwhisker who is pacing in the middle of camp. "tigerwhisker she will be ok. she isn't hurt she is just having her kits," I purr to him softly. he stops pacing and stares at me with panicked eyes. "how can you be sure? she's yowling loud she must be hurt!" he yowls to me. I jump on him and pin him to the ground. "tigerwhisker she's fine! roseleaf told me she was just scared for the kits sake. that's all the kits and her will be fine I promise," I say softly. he stops struggling and nods. I let him up and we sit watching the entrance. the yowling stops and roseleaf comes out. she flicks her tail to call us in. we both walk over and go into the den. mistyheart looks tired. she has her tail wrapped around four tiny kits. "tigerwhisker meet our new kits. two girls and two boys," says mistyheart softly. "what are we going to name them?" purrs tigerwisker softly. "I think that this black kit should be littlekit because she is so tiny," mistyheart replies. tigerwhisker nods. "what about hawkkit for the biggest tabby that is flexing his claws," says suggests tigerwhisker purring in amusement. "ok and featherkit for the silver and white she cat?" says mistyheart. "yes and the silver and white tabby one can be.." says tigerwhisker and pauses. "nettlekit," tigerwisker and mistyheart say at the same time. they purr and nod. I step closer."welcome to lightningclan littlekit, hawkkit, featherkit and nettlekit," I purr.

chapter 3

27 days later. I go out for a walk around camp when my stomach starts hurting, bad. "sharpfang! roseleaf! someone!" I yowl after I understand my kits are coming. "duskstar! we are coming!" yowls a voice from inside camp. I hiss in pain and I see roseleaf and icecloud running to me. "duskstar what's wrong?" asks icecloud then stops panicking. "you kits are coming. icecloud go find sharpfang and bring him back at once!" says roseleaf. she nods and runs off. "here lean against me we have to try to get you to your den or the nursery," she says. I lean against her and she leads me to my den. "come it's only a small leap up," she reassures me. we get up and she softens my nest. I lie down and yowl as a sharp pain goes through me. frostkit runs in. "why's duskstar yowling?" she asks scaredly. "don't worry she's just having her kits that's all," says roseleaf sweetly. "can I do anything to help?" asks frostkit. "yes. go grap a stick and bring it here," answers roseleaf. frostkit bolts out then back and sets the stick at my teeth. "when it hurts bite down on the stick instead of yowling," instructs roseleaf to me. "duskstar! I'm here. is she ok? icecloud came and I heard you yowl!" says sharpfang as he bolts in. "she's fine. frostkit try to calm down sharpfang please," says roseleaf annoyed. that's what I hear before the pain is back. I clamp my jaws around the stick. it breaks at the first bite. frostkit sets three more by me. it takes awhile but I settle eventually. I found out sharpfang went outside with frostkit. "hang in there duskstar there's still one more," roseleaf says softly. the last pain was small and then it was over. "well here they are. 4 she cats and 2 toms," roseleaf murmurs. she sighs with relief. "sharpfang come in," I hear roseleaf say. he comes in. "six kits. wow what a handful," he purrs. I nod and purr back. "you look tired. rest and we will name the kits in the morning," he says. "stay in here," I murmur to him. "frostkit can you get some dry moss and a few feathers?" roseleaf calls out of the den. frostkit, shadekit and bramblekit bring back moss and feathers and make a nest next to mine for sharpfang. after roseleaf and the three helpers left I fell asleep.

chapter 4 duskstar

one moon scence the kits were born. "shadowkit! come back here! come on play fair!" "yeah come on! you promised me and jaykit you would play fair!" the six kits have grown older and play all the time. we named them shadowkit, jaykit, dapplekit, darkkit, graykit, and thunderkit.

shadowkit view

"oh come on you have to be better than that if you wanna play. you arnt any fun. I'm going to fight with the boys!" I yowl. the other three gasp. "but thunderkit said that we will be ripped to shreds if we go over to there territory," whimpers dapplekit. "well then I guess I will be brought back to our territory in shreds then!" I hiss. "but shadowclan needs you," says jaykit. "well I guess shadowclan will need a new leader if I get ripped to shreds! I'm going to thunderclan territory!" I yowl. and I stalk over the fake border. "I wish to join your clan thunderkit!" I yowl. "well we don't need you. if you can get me pinned to the ground for a few seconds you can join, but you will be ripped to shreds," sneers thunderkit. I jump onto him and dig my claws into his back. he rears up and I fall and he lands on me scratches me with sharp claws. I roll away and knock his paws out from under him he rolls over but I firmly put my paw on his stomach. he claws hard at my stomach but I had beaten him. "you are perfact for thunderclan shadowkit. welcome to our clan," says thunderkit. "but what about shadowclan? it's named after her!" says graykit. "don't worry it's now jayclan," I tell them. "now all we need is to get mistyhearts kits on our side and we will take over jayclan!" yowls thunderkit. "er I was thinking, shouldn't we be warriors? we can't be a clan of kits!" says graykit. "then I, thunderstar give you your warrior names. graykit you will be known a grayclaw and shadowkit you will be known as shadowfang!"says thunderkit (STAR).

chapter 5 shadowkit

"first we should get hawkkit because he is the strongest anyway," says graykit. "ok I will go get him," I say. they both nod and I go to the nursery. "hi mistyheart," I say as I come in. "hi shadowkit what is it?," asks mistyheart. "where are your kits?" I ask her. "in the warriors den bugging tigerwhisker and sharpfang," she purrs. I nod to her and head to the warriors den. "hawkkit? featherkit?" I yowl as I near the den. "hey shadowkit!" says featherkit. "hey shadowkit," says hawkkit annoyingly. "hi I was wondering if you four want to join thunderclan with me, graykit and thunderkit," I tell them. "well I thought maybe I would join but because you are in," he says but I pounce on him. "what did you say about me," I hiss. he didn't reply so I dig my claws in. "wow you're strong shadowkit. I guess I will join then," he says after a minute. I jump off of him and I turn to featherkit. "where is nettlekit? and will you join?" I ask. "attacking sharpfang and I don't think I'm strong enough," she replies. "we need you. you are the strongest girl in your litter," I tell her. she nods and I go to nettlekit. "hey nettlekit you wanna join thunderclan?" I ask. "yeah I do!" he says and gets off of sharpfang. "well come on all of you then!" I yowl and we go to thunderclan territory. "wait what about littlekit?" asks featherkit. "she can find her way to jayclan," I murmur to her. "hey thunderstar," I say as we get to our camp. "I see you brought the new clan mates, good job shadowfang," says thunderkit. I nod. "so I will give you your warrior names. nettlekit you will be nettlethorn. featherkit you will be featherstrike. and hawkkit will be hawktalon," he says. they nod. "so now, featherstrike and shadowfang go and try to bring in the older kits. if you can atleast get frostkit that would be good but I don't expect shadekit to join," he orders us. we nod to him and run to the apprintices den, where they usually are. "hey shadowkit!" says frostkit when she sees us. "hi frostkit. do you want to join thunderclan?" I ask her. "well who's in this clan?" she asks back. "me featherkit, graykit, thunderkit, hawkkit," I say but she interrupts," say no more. if hawkkit is in this clan I will join." "ok and can you try to convince your littermates to join?" I ask in reply. she nods. "ok watch me I'll go the quickest path to our camp. come after you ask," I tell her. she nods again. featherkit fallows me back to thunderclan camp. "so where are they?" hisses thunderkit when we get back. "frostkit is trying to get her littermates to join," I hiss back. he nods and I instantly get bored. I sit on a rock and watch the rest of the clan going on patrols and sharing prey. frostkit returns with bramblekit. " ok I will give you to your warrior names," says thunderkit. "you will be known as brambleslash and frostbite," says thunderkit. they nod. "ok so you know we have shadowfang, grayclaw, featherstrike, nettlethorn, hawktalon, jayslash and frostbite," says thunderkit. "ok then thunderstar," says frostkit, "but we can only be in thunderclan for a a few days probably, then we will be apprentices." thunderkit nods. "well we can be a clan while it lasts."

chapter 6 shadowkit

"it's time to attack jayclan!" yowls thunderkit, "so we will go straight to there camp and attack. they only have four in there clan we will win easily!" we yowl and we go straight to rainclan camp. thunderkit yowls a battle call and we storm into there camp. I stand back and watch and noticed shadekit fighting with rainclan. I stalk off. im not going back it's no fun anymore. it's dark so I go to the leaders den. "hi shadowkit you to tired to play?" asks duskstar when I lie down next to her. "no I just got bored when thunderclan attacked jayclan. it got so boring that im not going back," I tell her. "oh ok do you want me to do anything?" she asks me. "make bramblekit, frostkit and shadekit apprentices," I murmur. "maybe I will. they're about six moons anyway," she mutters back. I look at her with the gleam in my eyes that means how soon. "well I have to talk to icecloud first. for all we know it could be now," she purrs. she gets up and goes to talk to icecloud. I follow her but I keep my distance. "yes they are ready," I hear icecloud say. yes! finally they will stop bugging me. "let all cats old enough to catch there own prey join for a clan meeting!" yowls duskstar. she's really going to make them apprentices! I sit at the front of our den and watch. "I call upon our warrior ancestors to watch over these young kits," she starts. "they are now ready to become apprentices. bramblekit. frostkit and shadekit, I hope that you will be guided well through your apprenticeship. sparrowclaw, I will have you mentor bramblepaw. fadedclaw, I want you to mentor shadepaw. last but not least frostpaw I will have Acorntail mentor you. I hope you will pass on your qualities to these apprentices," says duskstar. jaypaw rests his muzzle on sparrowclaws shoulder and shadepaw does the same but frostpaw doesn't. "frostpaw whats wrong?" says duskstar. "I'm sorry acorntail but I can't be a warrior. I want to be a medicine cat," she says loud enough for me to barely hear. "and why do you have to be a medicine cat?" challenges acorntail. frostpaw starts crying. "because really like herbs. I want to," cries frostpaw. i look up when she gasps. "acorntail! she wants to be a medicine cat! you can't stop her!" yowls duskstar. acorntail angles his ears back. "sorry duskstar," he mutters. frostpaw cries through the entire thing. duskstar glares at acorntail. "roseleaf come," says duskstar. "frostpaw you will now be roseleafs apprentice. I hope you will learn all you can to heal us all," says duskstar. frostpaw rests her muzzle on roseleafs shoulder. "acorntail I want to talk to you in my den," hisses duskstar. I go back into dusksatars den and lie down. "oh hey shadowkit. were you sleeping," says duskstar. I nod. "acorntail come back here," she hisses to him. they go the farthest from me but I hear them perfectly. "explain yourself. why did you yowl at her?" hisses duskstar. "you had declaired her my apprentice! I had clamed her by then," he hisses back. "she can do what she wants. you will be stuck in camp and catching your own prey in camp for 5 sun rises!" yowls duskstar. "but that's not fair!" yowls acorntail. duskstar and acorntail are by the entrance now. "that is your punishment now leave so that shadowkit can rest," duskstar says calmly. he yowls and runs outside and watches him go to the warriors den. I settle in to the feathers and duskstar comes and lies down to warm me. "sorry you had to hear that," she murmurs. I nod to her. "we're back!" yowls thunderkit. the five storm in. "I see that. you hungry?" asks duskstar. they shake there heads. "ok then." they come closer to so they can sleep. "move it you cowered!" hisses thunderkit. "yah you snake heart! get outta our way! that's our spot!" snarls graykit. "I have a better idea," says duskstar. "ok," thunderkit and graykit both say. "ok when I tell you go to the spot I tell you all. shadowkit stays here. darkkit right next to her. jaykit right here. *points tail* dapplekit next the her. graykit and thunderkit right there," she says and points her tail to the farthest part from her. they grumble but lie down there. I curl up in the warmth and listen to the heavy breathing of my litter mates. "that'll teach those snake-hearts," duskstar mutters to me. I purr and fall asleep.

chapter 7 shadowkit

two moons later. "come on hawkkit, fight me," I say. "no way I'll keep my distance," he mutters. I had just taken down graykit and thunderkit. "ugh fine. I'll find someone else," I mutter to him. I go over to nettlekit who wasn't watching. "hey nettlekit, you wanna fight?" I ask him. "sure but I won't go easy because your a she cat got it?" he replies. "give me your best," I murmur to him. he pounces on me. I instantly roll away and barrel him to the ground. I kick him to one of the walls of our camp. "wha?," he says and walks towards me. I jump past him and use my hind legs and spring off the wall. I again barrel into him sending us both flying. I land on my feet but he lands on his back. I pin him down. "you give in yet?" I ask him. "no way. I'm not losing to a she cat," he hisses. "fine I'll take you down like I did to thunderkit and graykit," I hiss back. he knocks me backwards but I run into another end of the camp. I spring from the wall yet again and know him off his feet. "you are so strong. you beat me," he coughs out. "ok. yowl for me if you want a rematch," I tell him. "like that'll happen," he mutters. I go to the pond and wash off my paws. these guys put up all fright and no fight. I will fight bramblepaw soon. but after hawkkit. "hawkkit?" I call. "what do you want?" he mutters. "come on I haven't fought you in a while," I say. he sighs and stands up. "fine," he mumurs. he lunges and me but smacks straight into a wall. I topple him and he tries to roll away. I pin him easily. "you win," he murmurs. "that was to easy you didn't even try," I say to him but I just go sit by a wall. I hiss to myself. sometimes I feel bad. my sisters don't come near me at all. when I get to our den first they end up sleeping in the cold. I decide I'll stop fighting. I go to a peaceful part of camp where no one can see or hear or find me. I sit but the small pond where I made a leaf nest. I think about how my own littermates hate me. the only way they will talk to me I if they want a rematch fighting. but never again. "shadowkit where are you?" I hear someone yowl.

chapter 8

I don't know how long I was there but I fell asleep. I wake up hearing duskstar talking. "is there any sign of her?" she asks someone. "no nowhere in camp or around camp. she wouldn't have strayed far would she?" says who I guess was tigerwhisker. "no not even outside of camp. she wouldnt leave," say duskstar worriedly. "shadowkit will come back don't worry," says tigerwhisker. they're looking for me! I know I can't stay here much longer. "did you find her?" I hear dapplekit say. "no," says duskstar. "she isn't dead right?" squeaks dapplekit. "don't worry she will be back," says tigerwisker again. I go through the bushes that hid me. there was no one near so i walked out. "shadowkit!" yowls duskstar. "what's wrong?" I ask her. "where were you?!" she hisses to me. "in camp where else?" I reply. "no you left camp. we looked everywhere!" she yowls. I was shocked to see worried faces, from my brothers. "I was in camp! follow me I'll show you where I was," I reply with a sort of weird tone. they follow me I lead them to the other peaceful place that has my other leaf nest. I guess I'll never come back here. this one also has a pond. "see I was here the entire time," I say while standing infront on the tunnel to the other one. duskstar prods tigerwhisker in the side. "you said you looked everywhere!" she hisses to him. "well this is hidden well," he says back. duskstar nods. "tigerwhisker go and set the evening patrol," duskstar orders. he leaves. "why were you hiding back here?" she asks me. "to get away from the others," I mutter. "why?" she asks me again. "because I'm unwanted!" I yowl. "no you're not. they like you. they all do. we all do," she tries to comfort me. "no. they hate me. I play fought with graykit and thunderkit but after that they avoided me and the other three are scared of me even though they know I won't hurt them. at night either I'm with you or alone," I reply. duskstar stares at me jaws gaping. I had fallen to the ground and she puts me on her back. she lies me down in her den and leaves. I here her yowl, "all the kits come here right now!" I knew I will now cause more problems. she brings all of the kits into her den and points her tail at me. "do you see what you have done?!" she hisses to them. "you've caused her great pain. all of you! thunderkit, graykit, nettlekit and hawkkit, she was play fighting with you and you avoid her for no reason! and all the she kits, you're scared she will attack you but why would she?" she hisses more at the kits. "we are scared of her because we've seen what she can do to the toms. when they battle she wins every time," mutters littlekit. "and she can bruise us very bad," says graykit. "and we are all mad at her cuz she always beats us," hisses hawkkit. graykit looks over at hawkkit with a mad glance. "the nine of you, mostly just the four of you, caused the clan great panic for no reason! leave now all of you!" duskstar hisses even madder than before. she comes back to me. "I never hurt them that bad," I yowl. "it's ok your not in trouble," she mutters to me. I hear everyone sleeping and carefully get up. I stalk out of the den and go to my peaceful place and go through the thorn tunnel to the other one. I curl up there and sleep there for the night.

chapter 9

everyone still avoid me even though I stopped fighting 1 moon ago. I end up staying in my own den most of the time where I'm not bothered. I know one of the kits will find me one day. luckily, hawkkit and his litter mates are becoming apprentices later today. I'll just have to wait a little longer. frostpaw talks to me more than others but thats only when I'm awake. I know she's all I have now. shadepaw avoids me too even though he know battle moves. today was special because mintpaw and rockpaw will become warriors when the kits become apprentices. duskstar had told me it was long over due. "let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join for a clan meeting!" yowls duskstar. I sit at the front of my den to watch. "today is special because we get new apprintices and warriors!" she yowls to everyone. "mintpaw and rockpaw come foward," she says. "you have trained well. mintpaw and rockpaw, to you promise to follow the warrior code and protect your clan even at the cost of your life?" duskstar says. "I do," they say at the same time. "then by the powers of starclan I give you your warrior names. from this day forward you will be known as mintleaf and rocksplash. I honor both of your patientcy and kindness and we welcome you as full members of lightningclan," finishes duskstar. "mintleaf! rocksplash!" we all cheer. "now for our new apprentices!" says duskstar after the cheering dies down. I stay even though I don't really care. "kits, come forward," she says. "I call upon our warrior ancestors to watch over these kits. they are now ready to become apprentices. littlekit, hawkkit, nettlekit and featherkit, I hope you will be guided well through your apprenticeship. from this moment you will be known as littlepaw, hawkpaw, nettlepaw and featherpaw. your mentors will be talonclaw for hawkpaw, smudgefoot for featherpaw, silverpetal for littlepaw and darktail for nettlepaw. I hope you will pass on your great qualities to your apprentices," finishes duskstar. I turn around to go back into my den but then duskstar says, " that's not all though. I had kept these kits a little longer so that now we can have the other kits be apprentices also," she says. I stare at her completely shocked. "jaykit, thunderkit, graykit, dapplekit, darkkit and shadowkit come forward," she yowls. I'm to shocked to move. I see thunderkit and graykit go up but the others are just staring. she flicks her tail and the three go up but I know i can't move. someone pushes me from behind. I nervously go up. "kits, from this moment until you receive your warrior names you will be known as shadowpaw, dapplepaw, thunderpaw, jaypaw, darkpaw, and graypaw. your mentors will be in the order I gave your apprentice names. firestorm, mistyheart, mudstripe, cinderfur, swiftclaw, and acorntail. I hope you will pass on your good qualities to your apprentices," duskstar says and finally is done. "the apprentice den was expanded so there's enough room for you and plus it's getting late so mentors can take you out tomorrow," she tells all of us I nod and run to the den. there and lots of nests but only three have cat scent in them. I get one that is in the middle so that I won't have to be on the outside. good for them they'll have to deal with me now. I lie down in the one closest to the middle next to shadepaws. I get comfertable easily. this one is clamed now, I want to yell to them. I curl tightly so not to be bothered. "so I see you've chosen your nest for your entire apprenticeship," I hear duskstar say. I nod. "that's a good choice because it's always really warm there and plus the other apprentices will have to take the outer nest. I had the two apprentices expand it to the right size so that it is just kind of crowded but that doesn't madder," says duskstar. she nudges me. "stay here. I made sure the other mentors kept their apprentices for a few more minutes," she says and leaves the den and brings back a mouse. "here now don't leave that nest until tomorrow so that it will have your scent in that spot," she says with a gleam of happiness in her eyes. she leaves and I eat the small mouse she left but only half of it. I throw it out of the den not leaving the nest. I just sit and wait for the rest of the day.

chapter 10

in the morning, the brightness flows in. It's a little before dawn. I look over and see all the apprentices still sleeping. I pad out of the den and go to the fresh kill pile. I grab a mouse and go back outside the apprentice den. I finish and get up and stretch. "you're up early," says firestorm. "I slept long enough," I murmur through a yawn. "morning firestorm," says darkpaw. "oh morning darkpaw, I'm going to go see if swiftclaw is awake. if she is we can go explore the territory together," says firestorm. we wait and he comes out alone. "darkpaw you're going on the dawn patrol soon. shadowpaw come with me, we are going to explore," says firestorm. I purr and follow him out of camp. "so I will take you completely around the borders today," says firestorm. "ok!" I say. we go to our first border closest to camp. . . .

some time later we get back to the spot where we started. "wow I didn't know we had such a big territory!" a bit after that hawkpaw had joined us while his mentor was on a border patrol. "so just hunt around this area," he says and sits. "o-ok," I reply. I drop down into a crouch. I sniff the air and smell squirrel and mouse. I want to be able to catch something but I go for the squirrel. I stalk forward as best as I can. I keep my tail down and quietly go through the bushes. I see it at a foot of a small tree. I stand for a moment. in a flash I pounce and catch it. I hiss in triumph. I grab it and go through the bushes. "heh better lu..," starts hawkpaw right as I come out. "how did you..?" he says astonished. "wow you are good! I'm glad I have such a good apprientice!" says firestorm. I stare at him my eyes shining. he stares back at me. "wow I never noticed your eyes are different colors," he says. I look down at my paws. "ok now it's my turn," says hawkpaw. I follow him quietly about 3 fox lengths. he stalks a mouse. he pounces too early and misses. I shoot through the bushes and follow the mouse. hawkpaw had stopped before I followed it. I swiftly pounce and nip it. "no fair you didn't give me a chance!" says hawkpaw but I can tell he doesn't mean it. we both go back to firestorm. "so hawkpaw why does shadowpaw have the mouse?" he says amused. "he gave up as soon as it shot away so I followed it and caught it just before it went down a hole," I say putting it with the squirrel. "ok so uh shadowpaw go that way and hawkpaw go that way and see if you can find any prey," says firestorm. I run to my direction and sniff the air. the only thing I smell is pigeon and I know I can't catch the hardest animal to catch but I try anyways. I crouch down. the pigeon is pecking at the ground. I stalk foward close enough pounce with good stealth. I wait a moment to make sure it didnt hear me. then I pounce! the alarmed bird tries to take flight but I bring it down. it fights back with it's sharp talons. I slice at it as it scratches at my eyes. one last slash and I kill it. I really did it! on my first hunt! I am covered in feathers and my eye is scratched but not bad enough to affect my sight and a scratch along my ear but I don't care. I grab the pigeon and carry it back to firestorm. before I go out of the bushes I see hawkpaw with a mouse smaller than my paw. I carry out my pigeon. "s-shadowpaw h-how did you get that?" asks firestorm wide eyed. "I hunted it. it faught back but I got it!" I say in triumph. hawkpaw stares at me his jaws gaping with his pitiful mouse now on the ground. "let's get back to camp so that we can get your eye checked," says firestorm. I grab all three of the prey but they weigh me down. firestorm grabs the plump mouse. I nod to him and slowly make my way back to camp. it has been dark for a while so I'm making it back in time that everyone is in camp. I walk through the tunnel and instantly see shocked eyes turned to me. hawkpaw looks down in shame at his mouse. "did shadowpaw catch those?" "shadowpaw couldn't have she's far too small!" "I'm impressed!" say lots of cats. "what's going on? what's with all the muttering?" says duskstar. "shadowpaw caught a pigeon and a squirrel!" says firestorm. "what did I hear?" says sharpfang. "our kit caught a pigeon!" says duskstar. "wow! I guess we have a little hunter dont we?" says sharpfang. duskstar nods. I pull the two pieces of fresh kill to the pile. I grab my plump mouse I caught and sit by the apprentice den. "so your a hunter now? what happened to my real sister? the tough she cat," says thunderpaw. "well if you don't care that I caught food for you then you won't have any," I say. I finished my mouse and I carry the squirrel to the warriors den. "here I thought you would want it," I say to the three cats that are in there. "thanks shadowpaw," says sharpfang. I nod and go back to the fresh kill pile. "so are you going to eat that whole pigeon?" asks duskstar amused. "I'm taking it to roseleaf and frostpaw. sharpfang has the squirrel in the warriors den if you want some," I say. she flicks her tail tip and walks away. I turn towards the medicine den. I go to the entrance luging the squirrel behind me. "roseleaf?" I call. "oh hi shadowpaw!" says frostpaw. "hi I brought you the pigeon I caught today for you to share with roseleaf," I tell her. "wow you're a hunter for sure! thanks!"she says. "I'll see you later," I say and turn away. I go back to the apprentice den. "oh yah the squirrel was supposed to be for the apprentices but I gave it to the warriors," I say as I pass thunderpaw. he growls and stalks off. I run over to tigerwhisker. "can I go on the night patrol? please?" I ask. "sure if you get firestorm to come," he replies. I run to the warriors den. "firestorm can we go on the dusk patrol please?!" I ask. "no we both need rest for training tomorrow," he says through a bite. I zoom out of the den and go over to tigerwisker. "he sayed no," I say sadly. "maybe tomorrow," says tigerwisker. I go to the apprentice den ad look to the sky. it's pretty late anyways so I decide to go to sleep. I see jaypaw and graypaw already sleeping. I curl up and sigh with relief.

chapter 11

I wake in the middle of the night to littlepaw leaving the den. I follow her out of curiosity. she goes to the edge of our territory. she turns back towards me in the bushes. "good bye, lightningclan it was good to come back," says littlepaw. she goes over the border and doesn't turn back. "littlepaw what are you doing? where are you going?" I yowl from the border. she stops dead. "you were following me!?" she yowls back. "yes," I say as she comes back to the border. "you have to leave now," says littlepaw sternly. I stare at her shocked. "where are you going?" I ask my voice quivering. she looks away. "don't make this hard for me," she answers. "you're leaving?" I ask. she nods. "you don't know the real me. you were a good friend. I don't have alot of time," she replies. "you're my only real friend. don't leave me," I say. "goodbye shadowpaw. may the stars light your path forever," she says with her voice quivering. "no!" I yowl and knock her over. "I have to I have no time! im helping the clan!" she yowls. her pelt shimmers for a second. I let go of her. I sit back shocked by what just happened. "who are you?" I whisper. "I'm not the kit you grew up next to anymore I-I'm sorry," she cries. "why are you leaving?" I ask quietly. "you'll find out soon enough my good friend. I'll be waiting for you, you'll see me again but not in the waking world. like I said I'm helping the clan. I hope you'll understand," she says. "goodbye my friend. I'll wait for you," she says. "I can believe this it goodbye. I'll miss you forever," I say and nuzzle her. she slowly turns and walks away, out of sight. I lie down in her scent hoping to never forget it. I know she's not dead but it feels like we were just torn apart forever. I fell asleep there and woke at the light of dawn. I stretch and look into the distance. I had fallen asleep right where my heart was broken. my only friend is gone. I'll never know who she really was and where she went. i hold in a cry of pain as I remember the events of the night before. I lie there, wanting the world to go around me without any harm. I hear paw steps and hear the dawn patrol coming. "shadowpaw!" I hear someone yowl. "were you here the whole night?" asks the cat. I nod. "are you hurt?" asks who I now assume is acorntail. they look at me confused. "I'm not hurt," I say. "ok well let's go back to camp," he replies. I don't get up. "come on shadowpaw," he says more sternly. I still lie there curled in a ball. he grabs me by the scruff and carries me around for the rest of their patrol. I stay curled with my eyes shut. we get back to camp and acorntail sets me on the ground. "ok what's wrong?" he asks. I let out a small wail. "shadowpaw what wrong?" asks duskstar who just came up. I don't know what to say. *tell them I'm dead* the word flow in my mind. *say a fox killed me. it will be the easiest way*. she is talking to me in my head. I look up to my mother. "littlepaw is dead," I wail.

chapter 12

"what?!" I hear mistyheart say. "where is she?!" she yowls. "a fox," I mutter through another wail. mistyheart wails loudly for her dead kit. "how do you know this? did you lead her to the fox?" sneers thunderpaw. duskstar hisses and barrels into thunderpaw. "you calling my kit, better yet your sister, a murderer?" she challenges. at that thunderpaw looks in pain. duskstar comes back to me. "I'm so sorry. I know she was a good friend," she comforts me. "all I know is my hearts in shreds," I mutter to her. she gives me a very warm look of sympathy. she goes to the medicine cat den and brings out frostpaw. she comes over to me and licks me between the ears. "I'm so sorry. I'm here for you shadowpaw," says frostpaw. I know I'll be strong for littlepaw now. I sit up. "i will wait a while and see if later you want to have battle training," says firestorm. I look at me paws than say, "no I want to train now," I say. he tilts his head but nods. I stand and follow him. "ok so we are not training with others today," he tells me. I let my claws unsheathe. I carve a fox in the sand/dirt. I swipe with all my might at it even though I can't blame a fox for what happened last night. "ok um how about you try the roll swipe," he suggests. I look at a growing tree in a corner of the hollow. I roll towards it and swipe at the branch and then bite it where a cats under belly would be. "ok...," says firestorm. we train for a while longer and I ended up pulling out the tree. firestorm decides to be done for today. "go get some fresh air. come back to camp by sun set," he says. I nod and walk out into the forest. I scent fox. huh I guess there really was a fox. I follow the scent to a fox den. i dont attack and go back to warn my clan mates. when i get back to camp i go to duskstars den. "come in shadowpaw," i hear duskstar say. "i found the fox den," i say. "really?! i guess we have to drive it out then," says duskstar.

chapter 13 (2 moons later)

the snow had begun to fall to begin leaf bare. the fox has been driven out. "let all cats old enough to catch their own pray join at tall rock for a clan meeting!" yowls duskstar. the whole clan comes at her summons. "today brings with two new warriors!" yowls duskstar. shadepaw and bramblepaw step closer to the rock. "I duskstar leader of lightningclan call upon our warrior ancestors to guide these apprentices they have trained hard and are now ready to become warriors," duskstar begins. "bramblepaw and shadepaw, do you promise to follow the warrior code and protect your clan even at the cost of your lives?" asks duskstar. "I do," they both say confidently. "then by the powers of starclan I give you your warrior names. bramblepaw, from this moment forward you'll be known as bramblefoot, and shadepaw from this moment foward you'll be known as shadespirit. I honor all of both of your abilities and I welcome you as full members of lightningclan," finishes duskstar. "bramblefoot! shadespirit!" cheer the entire clan. the two warriors look up at duskstar and turn and head for the entrance to sit vigil. that will be me in two moons I think to myself. the meeting breaks up. I know that I train for no reason now. I've learned all I need and firestorm even knows that. I see him go to duskstars den but I don't know why. I sit in my special den for these moments. it's really pretty here with the stream. "shadowpaw?" I hear sharpfang ask. I go through the tunnel quietly but fast. "yes?" I say in reply. "duskstar wants to see you in her den," he tells me. I nod and come out and walk over to duskstars den. "you wanted me?" I say at the front of the den. memories of growing in here flash back. after a moment duskstar says, "yes come in shadowpaw." I come in and see firestorm sitting near duskstar. "firestorm says he has nothing more to teach you," she says when I sit down. I nod and look questioningly at firestorm. "well I want to see all your skills in a test for early warriors," duskstar says. "really?!" I say excitedly. "yes. I would like to start tomorrow," duskstar replies. i nod and run back to the apprentice den. i curl up waiting for night to come and then be gone. the next day. "firestorm you come to. we will leave right now," declares duskstar. we leave the den and head deep into the forest. "first hunting," says duskstar. I go forward. i close my eyes scent for prey. I smell mouse, squirrel, and pigeon! I follow the squirrel scent and see a skinny gray squirrel eating a beech nut. I stalk forward and at the right time pounce at it and bring it to the ground. I toss it back to duskstar and then follow the pigeon scent. I see it pecking at the ground but it's very small. i crouch down waiting to show my best to duskstar. I get at the best angle to pounce. I stalk alittle farther into the bushes. at the last second before it heard the warning call I pin it's wings to the ground. it flutters up but i jump higher into the air. using my hindlegs i kick down into the pigeon. back on the ground i use my claw and kill it easily. "impressive. you passed hunting," says duskstar, gathering a pile of sticks together. "now battle," says firestorm. I show my best move that I made myself. I jump in the air and bring down my hind legs hard on a pile of sticks. I then slash it three times with my front paws and the stick pile collapses. I get covered in snow. I turn to duskstar and she looks impressed. "you passed," she say after a minute. "I guess this is all. you truly are a warrior," mutters duskstar. i stare at her. "let's get back to camp," says firestorm. "you go ahead I'm going to stay in the forest for a while," I say. they both nod and go back to camp. I sit by the giant water pool that lies part way in our territory. I look in the water at my reflection. it all seems normal but then instead of a cat looking back at me it's just a shadow with stars swirling around it's paws. the shadow open it's eyes of a frosty blue and green, like mine. it disappears and I'm looking back at myself. I stay there for a while longer. I stand and head to the border where I last saw littlepaw. I dash across the border and run in that direction until I got tired. I'm looking down on a large flat field with hill walls on all sides. I then see littlepaw down there with a tall black tom with white stripes. the black tom goes into a hole and leaves littlepaw alone in the middle of the place. I race down the hill over to her. "littlepaw!" I yowl as I come to her. "shadowpaw!" she purrs back. "I missed you to much to not try to find you," I murmur to her. "I did to but I had to stay here," she mutters back. "so you are a starclan cat aren't you," I say and look into her eyes. she nods. "I only have a little time. I have to go back to starclan in a few sunrises," she says sadly. "why did you leave anyways?" I ask. "don't tell our clan. I'm remaking sharpclan for all of the sharpclan ancestors. the cat you saw is thornstar," she tells me. "wow so I assume that when they are all together we will have another clan to fight with," I say sadly. "it's all for the sake of living in the sun forest," she says. "thornstar! call the clan together!" say littlepaw running to a hole in the ground. "what is it littlepaw?" says thornstar, coming out of the hole. she flicks her tail towards me. he nods a yowls, " let everyone join for a clan meeting!" i watch as few cats come out of a cave in the side of the wall. littlepaw sits by thornstar with great confidence. "everyone! i bring with me a warrior of lightningclan!" she yowls. i walk up to them. "h-hi," i say. "welcome to sharpclan camp!" says thornstar. a black tom who is a bit taller than me comes up. "did littlepaw say you were a warrior?" he asks. "soon i will be probably," i reply. "ha! so they are a clan of tiny warriors then? wow how stupid!" yowls the black tom. "blackpaw! be nice. she is a guest and i bet she could even beat our whole clan if she tried!" yowls thornstar running toward us. "im so sure! lets see if she can even beat me!" hisses blackpaw. "blackpaw dont," says littlepaw. thornstar looks at me. "i give you approval to show blackpaw that even a small warrior can be strong," he says. "prove to us that lightningclan is strong! you have approval!" he yowls louder so everyone can here. littlepaw dips her head to me. i turn back to blackpaw and he has a evil grin. he pounces to me but im ready for him. i jump up farther and kick down surprising him just like the pigeon. then while he still is getting back up i jump again. this time just bringing my back legs down and he collapses. "i cant be beat!" coughs blackpaw. "lightningclan cat wins blackpaw," says thornstar. he nods to me. im not hurt at all afterall that. "i hope to meet again soon," says thornstar. "i guess i should be going back," I mutter sadly. littlepaw nods. "I'll visit your dreams youngest warrior. i will wait for you," she says. "goodbye sharpclan, bye littlepaw," I say and turn away. "by the way im shadowpaw," i say. no one says anything else. I leave sharpclans camp and run back to ours. I wash off the scent of sharpclan that had gotten on me from the fight. I go back into camp. "hey shadowpaw, do you wanna share this mouse?" says bramblefoot. "sure thanks," I say and take a bite. the warmth of it was so great. "thanks again bramblefoot," I say as I wash my paws. "what are friends for?" he purrs.

.

chapter 14 (about 11 days later)

a snowy day in leaf bare. "shadowpaw? shadowpaw wake up," says thunderpaw. "what?" I mutter. "duskstar needs you right now," he says. I stretch and leave the den and see duskstar, firestorm, and sharpfang waiting in the center of the clearing. "shadowpaw today is the day we make you a warrior," says duskstar. "you will be the youngest warrior in the clan," says firestorm. I nod and purr. "I guess we will do the ceremony now," says duskstar. we turn and see the return of roseleaf and frostpaw. "oh good, your back," says duskstar. "shadowpaw! I'm a full medicine cat now!" says frostpaw in happiness. "what's your name?" I ask with the same enthusiasm as her. "I am now frostgaze! full medicine cat of lightningclan!" she purrs. "congratulations frostgaze!" I purr back. she's about to say more but duskstar yowls," let all cats old enough to catch your own prey join for a clan meeting!" I go the closest I can before she accully calls me forward. the clearing fills fast. "I have summoned all of you to honor a cat with a warrior ceremony," starts duskstar. I hear murmurs of confusion. "shadowpaw come forward," she says and gasps of surprise come form the other clan members. I walk forward. "shadowpaw has trained well and has learned

all she needs to know to become a full member of the clan. shadowpaw do you promise to follow and remember the warrior code and protect the clan even at the cost of your life?" she asks. "I do," I reply and it echoes around camp. "then by the powers of starclan I give you your warrior name. shadowpaw, from this moment forward you will be known as shadowfrost. starclan and I honor your learning skills and your patience and I welcome you and the youngest warrior of the clan," finishes duskstar. "shadowfrost! shadowfrost!" cheers the clan with frostgaze and the other she cat apprienticess the loudest. I don't hear any of the boy apprentices cheering. the meeting breaks up and frostgaze runs over to me. "you are the youngest warrior shadowfrost! why shadowfrost?" asks frostgaze. "it's the reminder of when I became the youngest warrior," I say. "I guess you should eat and go take your post outside camp," she says. I nod and grab a mouse to eat later. "I saw you not cheer for your litter mate!" yowls sharpfang in pure anger. "we don't care," says graypaw. "you'll have to wait longer. all the tom apprentices," hisses sharpfang. he walks over to me. "my little warrior. I guess I have to talk to you tomorrow," he purrs. I nod and go to the entrance. I knew it would be a long cold night. I fluff out my pelt to keep warm. after a short amount of time I see bramblefoot come out the entrance. "duskstar said someone should be out here with you because it's so cold," he greets. I nod to him and he fluffs out his pelt and leans close to me. "this will be a long night," he mutters.

chapter 15

in the morning I get really tired.I told bramblefoot to sleep if he had to. he ended up staying up with me the whole night. "shadowfrost you can come into camp now. your vigil is over," says firestorm. I yawn and nod to him. "I suggest eating and resting for now, both of you," he say as we go back into camp. "ok," says bramblefoot. we share a mouse and go to the smallest warriors den. we ended up with three because we needed more room. the small one can fit four cats. bramblefoot, shadespirit, and snowlily had shared this den until now so it's us four. after catching up on sleep I decide to go on a patrol. "oh hey shadowfrost! do you want to help me collect herbs?" asks frostgaze. "sure," I reply hoping we will get time to talk. we first find a patch of yarrow. "so I see my brother has a interest in you," says frostgaze awkwardly. "I guess," I reply trying to get the weirdness out of the air. "did you know bramblefoot used to talk about you, alot, even as kits?" purrs frostgaze. i purr in amusement. "but the question is, do you like him?" she asks. "yes. I-I do," I admit. she picks up the yarrow and I go and grab the juniper berries off the ground. we walk towards camp. "help! someone help me!" we hear someone yowl. "Help me!" comes the voice again. I know I recognize it. we run back to the border and we find tinyflower lying on the ground. "shadowfrost, frostgaze, is that you?" she asks in a tired voice. "yes whats wrong?" I ask quietly. "I'm having kits," she manages to say. I freeze up but frostgaze goes right in. "so why didn't you tell me or roseleaf?" asks frostgaze. "I thought they would come in another moon," she says then stops and tries to keep a yowl in. I push her a stick. "who's your mate?" I ask quietly. "berrytail," she replies but I don't say anymore. I hear the stick crack and I push more over to her. then frostgaze gasps. she pushes the kits to me. "lick," she tells me and turns back to tinyflower. the kits are squealing for there mother but I lick them and they eventually get comfortable. "no!" yowls frostgaze making me look up. she has tears going down her face. "she's gone," says frostgaze. "tinyflower is, dead?" I ask in pure shock. she nods. "go get berrytail and duskstar, and roseleaf," she says and sits there staring in dismay. "take the kits back to camp," she says. "I won't take the kits. tinyflower might still have milk in her," I say and drop the kits by her and run back to camp. I dash in making everyone suspicious. "duskstar! roseleaf! berrytail! come quick!" I yowl. they all come luckily all in camp. duskstar looks like she's going to ask a question but I run hearing them follow. we make it back to where frostgaze is. "tinyflower!" yowls berrytail. frostgaze is wrapped around the kits. duskstar looks in dismay. "frostgaze it's ok. you did your best but there was no way to save her," says roseleaf. "there had to be! I am a horrible medicine cat if I can't even save the life of a clanmate!" murmurs frostgaze. no replies go but berrytail is burying his nose in her fur. frostgaze nudges him. he looks at her with sadness in his gaze. frostgaze grabs the kits and sets them in front of berrytail. "your kits," frostgaze says. he looks down at the tiny white striped kit and a reddish brown kit. "they are she cats," I murmur to him. all is silent for a moment. he stares down at the kits. "ivykit. amberkit," he manages to say. "let's get back to camp," says duskstar, who I forgot was here. berrytail goes over to tinyflower and grabs her scruff. duskstar and roseleaf go under her and support her weight so that she won't get dirty. frostgaze and i grab the kits. when we get back to camp what awaits us is shocked eyes. they lie tinyflower down in the clearing of camp. "what are we going to do with my kits?!" berrytail yowls, "they are going to starve!" duskstar grabs the kits. she pads over to mistyheart. "don't try to hide that you are expecting another litter," she says setting ivykit and amberkit in front of her. "ok I'll take care of them," says mistyheart. "thank you mistyheart!" yowls berrytail, running over to her. she nods and heads for the nursery with ivykit and amberkit. jayfoot came over to me. "look at ivykit. she's adorable," murmurs bramblefoot. i go to the fresh kill pile and grab a plump vole. bramblefoot joins me. "bramblefoot! come with us on a night patrol!" yowls snowlily. he nods to me and follows snowlily out of camp. I turn back around and see tigerwhisker watching the nursery with an odd look. I turn away. "hello my little warrior," a voice says behind me. i turn around and see sharpfang looking down to me with a proud gaze. "i was hoping to get a chance to welcome you myself," he says. "thanks," i murmur loud enough for him to hear. "shadowfrost! i would like you to go on the night hunting patrol," says tigerwhisker. im glad to be out of camp again. i follow tigerwhisker out into the forest. he leads us to the forest edge border. thorntail flicks his tail straight up and setting it on tigerwhisker to signal him to stop. "what is it thorntail?" whispers tigerwhisker. "somethings not right," thorntail murmurs back. i tense up. so its time for lightningclan to meet sharpclan now. "ill check it out, ill call for help if i need it," i tell them. tigerwhisker nods. "thorntail stay a bit behind just in case. we will continue," says tigerwhisker. i go through the bit of bush that is our border. "thornstar?" i call out lightly so thorntail doesn't hear. "shadowpaw?" i hear a voice say. "its me," i relpy. thornstar comes out of the undergrowth on the other side of the border. "littlepaw said she wanted me to come meet duskstar," he says. i nod. "go back into the under growth and ill find a way to get back to camp right now," i tell him. he backs into the under growth and i yowl. "shadowfrost are you ok?" says thorntail running to me. "ya im ok but i stepped on a thorn," i reply. "its looks pretty deep you should go see roseleaf for that," says thorntail. "ok and there is nothing here anyways, tell tigerwhisker that im back at camp," i say. he flicks his tail and runs off. i flick my tail to thornstar to come out. "do you have anyone with you?" i ask. "i have my deputy, cloverpelt, my medicine cat swiftsong, and one of my warriors, lilysong," he answers. "im here to," says a voice in the bushes. littlepaw comes out but she has stars in her fur. "i went back to starclan 4 sunrises ago. i have come to help explan the new clan to lightningclan," she says coming up to me. she rests her muzzle on my head. i purr but then get back turn to thornstar. "follow me," i say. littlepaw walks right next to me. we stay to the bushes so me wont be scented before we get to camp. "shadowfrost? who's with you?" says redpelt as we get to camp. "go into camp and you'll see ok?" i say. she turns and goes into camp. littlepaw is behind the three sharpclan cats. duskstar is waiting at the end of the tunnel. "shadowfrost who are these cats?" asks duskstar. we go into camp so everyone who gathered can see them. thornstar steps foward. "i am thornstar, leader of sharpclan, and this is cloverpelt my deputy and swiftsong my medicine cat," says thornstar. duskstar doesn't say anything then looks at littlepaw. "i am an apprentice in starclan and i have been for more moons then i count. i was here in lightningclan so that the sun forest could gather on full moon. i came to make sharpclan. that was what lightningstar said for me to do," says littlepaw. everyone is in shock. "i see. so you are on the forest edge border then?" says duskstar. thornstar nods. "well then, uh shadowfrost, can you take them back to their territory?" says duskstar awkwardly. i nod and watch as thornstar leads his warriors out. "ill see you in your dreams shadowfrost," says littlepaw and she fades away. "good bye littlepaw," i murmur. "i dont think we've met," says a voice behind me. i look back as thornstar leads back to the border. "hi. im lilysong," says the cat. "hi lilysong. im shadowfrost," i reply. "lightningclan seems like a good clan to be in," says lilysong awkwardly. i walk ahead to the front of the group to where im supposed to be. all is silent for the rest of the time it takes to get to the boarder. we get to the boarder and thornstar says, " ill be back, alone in three sunrises." i nod and thornstar leads the group into their territory.

chapter 16

Time passes. thornstar had come just as he said and duskstar was even less interested. its nearly been a moon later. the night before was full moon but we still didn't gather with sharpclan. but thats not the point of today. today is special because the apprentices are becoming warriors. it's nearly sun down when duskstar yowls, "let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather for a clan meeting!" the apprentices are already gathered when everyone comes. i sit behind my sisters, who have come to really like me over the last few moons. "today is the most special day of any clan. today we welcome 8 new warriors," starts duskstar. the mentors of the apprentices are sitting close to the rock, watching their apprentices with pride. "i, duskstar, leader of lightningclan call upon my warrior ancestors to watch of these cats, for they have trained hard to become the warriors that they are coming to be. featherpaw, nettlepaw, and hawkpaw come forward," says duskstar. a small pause comes as they stand and walk confidently forward. "do you all promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect your clan even at the cost of your life?" asks duskstar. they all nod. "featherpaw, from this moment you will be known as featherear. nettlepaw, from this moment you will be known as nettlepath. and hawkpaw, you will be known as hawktalon. i honor all of you, and welcome you three as full members of lightningclan," says duskstar. "featherear! nettlepath! hawktalon!" cheers the clan. "and now, my kits, come forward," says duskstar. i sit up strait up to get a good view. "thunderpaw, graypaw, jaypaw, darkpaw and dapplepaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect the clan, even at the cost of your lives?" says duskstar. they nod. "then by the powers of starclan i give you your warrior names. thunderpaw, from this moment on you will be known as," says duskstar but a yowl from someone in the crowd interrupts. thunderpaw hisses and jumps from where he was sitting, to a cat who just walked into camp. "how dare you interrupt MY warrior ceremony?" hisses thunderpaw. i now know who it is. it is sharpclans warrior, lilysong. "that enough thunderpaw! get off of her!" i yowl. he hasher easily pinned anf is scratching her very hard. i jump up and knock him away. "shadowfrost, come on i was fighting her!" hisses thunderpaw when her gets back up. "are you ok lilysong?" i ask looking down at her. "yah I'm ok," she says standing up. "lilysong, why are you here?" asks duskstar. "i want to join lightningclan," she replies confidently. "what no way! you from sharpclan!" says thunderpaw. "and why is that?" says duskstar. "well when i came here a moon ago, you were all well together. in sharpclan, no one really likes each other. and duskstar, you are the nicest cat I've ever met," says lilysong. "really. i would be honored to have a nice young cat like you in my clan," says duskstar cheerfully. "really!? thank you so much!" says lilysong. "ok lets get back the the ceremony," says duskstar. thunderpaw growls as he passes me and lilysong. he goes back and sits in the front with my other littermates. "thunderpaw, from this moment you will be known as thunderstrike. graypaw, you will be graycloud. jaypaw, from this moment you'll be jayfern. darkpaw, you will now be darkpetal. dapplepaw, you will be known as dappleheart. you have trained well and i welcome you, all of you as full members of lightnignclan," says duskstar. "thunderstrike! graycloud! jayfern! darkpetal! dappleheart!" yowls the clan, me and sharpfang the loudest. " now lilysong. i welcome you to lightningclan. you are already a warrior so not much has to be done. everyone shall treat her like our own warriors," says ,duskstar. "Lilysong! Lilysong!" the clan yowls, except for my brothers. Duskstar comes down and comes up to me. "Make sure your brothers don't be mean to lilysong, alright?" says duskstar with a purr. I nod and she walks away. "hi lilysong," i yowl across camp. lilysong turns towards me and ignores my brothers hisses while walking to me. "hi shadowfrost! its been a while since i saw you," says lilysong, who looks glad to see one friendly cat. "i'm glad that your leader let me join, i really didn't like sharpclan," says lilysong. "hey shadowfrost! im moving back to a bigger warriors den so that lilysong can be in the same one as the only cat she really knows," explains snowlily, who ran up to me. "thanks snowlily. i appreciate it," I reply. lilysong goes with snowlily, talking to her about her new den.

chapter 17

that night was for celebrating new warriors and a bit of awkwardness for the clan. all 8 of the apprentices guarded camp, three at the entrance of camp and my littermates were guarding in camp. Lilysong seemed happier this morning, and less weird acting. some still gave her suspicious looks but most gave her friendlier looks. my sisters seem to like her also. they had been asking her about sharpclan and why she left, which was mostly dappleheart asking for the whole morning. my brothers still hiss at her but one glance from me and they stop. everyone seems to be settling in now also. "shaodwfrost! hey shadowfrost wake up!" says a voice outside. I look out to see it barely dawn. I walk out and see amberkit and ivykit grinning. "oh. it's you two. do you know how early it is?" i say as i look down at them. "yeah well, we had to do something because mistyheart said we couldn't wake up birdkit!" replies amberkit. A little while after tinyflower had died, mistyheart had another kit, named birdkit. amberkit and ivykit were both three moons now and birdkit was two moons. "shadowfrost can you teach us a battle move? please?!" says ivykit. "well, why me though?" i ask in reply. "mistyheart told us how you were the bestest fighter! even better than hawktalon!" replies amberkit. "well, I haven't really fought in a while so i guess one move would be ok," I answer. "follow my steps ok?" i say. they both nod and watch my every move. I stretch my paw out, claws sheathed and swipe at the air. "wow, that looks so easy!" says amberkit. she stretches out her paw, kind of shakily and swipes hard at the air, and falls over. "aww! when you did it, it looked so easy!" amberkit said. Ivykit had no better luck, falling onto amberkit. "shadowfrost? what are you doing awake so early?" yawns tigerwhisker, who had just came out of the warriors den. he looks over at ivykit and amberkit. amusement was in his eyes as he sees them both lying on the ground. "so I'm guessing these two woke you up for battle training?" he purrs in amusement. "yeah. thank starclan they only woke me up," i say, amused with them now rolling around in the dirt. "you might as well go on dawn patrol, saying that you are already up," he says with a yawn. "ok. should I lead it?" I reply. "yes. choose three more cats to go with you," he says back. "aww! but shadowfrost was helping us with our battle skills!" says ivykit, as the two kits walk over to us. "well she can help you later. I need her right now," replies tigerwhisker. the two kits nod and walk away. I go back to the small warriors den. "bramblefoot! shadespirit! lilysong! we are going on dawn patrol!" i say looking into the den. The three of them come out of the den. we all eat quickly and even though we were a bit late, we set off to check the borders. we start with the opposite borders from sharpclan, making it around and replacing scent marks. lilysong was acting a bit weird when we made it to the sharpclan borders. she kind of ducked down when she heard some cats coming. "hello!" yowls one of the cats. I look at the group of three cats walking up to the borders. lilysong disappeared behind some bushes by then. "hello sharpclan cats," i reply to them. "shadowpaw! its nice to see you again!" says the cat in the back of the group. the cat comes up to the front. "oh blackpaw! its you," i reply awkwardly. "wow shadowpaw, don't you think i would be a warrior by now? my name is blackshade," he says. "I should say the same to you. I am shadowfrost," i reply. he nods and the taller cat behind him comes forward. "hello shadowfrost its been a while," says the cat, who i know now is swiftsong. I nod respectfully to her. tensions get odd between us and i call the group together. swiftsong gathers her group and we both leave. "well, come on out lilysong," says shadespirit, looking under the bush where she hid. she comes out and stays crouched. "lilysong, you know you can't hide from them forever. come on lets continue the patrol," i say to her.

she hides every time her old clan is near. sharpclan, the clan that has killed the sun forest.

EPILOGUE

The forest is well. everything so far has been good. the countless moons have brought us together, more and more over not sure how long this clan has been together, but we are the strongest clan of the forest, saying the other clan is sharpclan. Lightningclan has grown strong, this clan is my home, now and forever. starclan is watching us, im sure. my journey is only beginning, and nothing will stop me from becoming stronger.


End file.
